Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Eating my words

Okay, so I've been pretty well opposed to kids+cell phones. I don't think kids need phones at school; after all, I didn't have one back then (of course, no one else did either, but still) and my family managed to get along just fine.

Then the fab folks at Mom Central Consulting and MotherTalk offered the opportunity to test out a cell-phone geared for a kid's use. What can I say? I said yes. Also I was thinking that this one particular boy could now STOP CALLING MY DAUGHTER ON MY PHONE, because if I don't answer he leaves a 5 minute message. Sometimes with singing.

Last week we got the package from Kajeet and my first thought was HEY! This has a camera! And it is WAY COOLER than my phone..that sucks!And it is cool. The buttons are all clearly labeled with 'back', 'end', 'speaker phone', and 'talk'.The button for the camera has a picture of...well, a camera.Much easier to figure out than my phone, too.

Checked out the Kajeet website and it's pretty user friendly as well. The most excellent thing about this phone service is that I can log in and see who has called my baby girl, who SHE has called, who's been texting and how much, AND I can block any and all phone calls during certain hours if I want to (like after 8pm, or during school hours, or...WEEKENDS, if she's in trouble with me. HAHA! I love that part).

Worried about a big phone bill? Don't be. It's pay as you go. Whatever is in the account can be spent (yes, there is a charge per call AND a charge per text message)...but when it's gone, TOO BAD SO SAD, kiddo. This works in my favor around the house too, because I made it clear that part of a certain little girl's allowance would have to pay for her phone use, and if that little girl's chores were not done then NO allowance would be forthcoming. (I should add that the allowance thing is new--chores have been done free of charge up 'til now. Because that's how it works here in MontyLand)

One more thing: you can sign up for the service and activate your account online (OH! And separate passwords & usernames for you and the kid) or you can call customer service. I chose to check out the customer service center--mostly because so many companies have really crappy CS agents.

NOT SO HERE. I dealt with a girl named Tory and she was a treasure. She should get a raise. She was patient and explained everything to me clearly, took me through the steps one by one, and was a sweet and lovely sounding girl. BIG bonus points for stellar customer service.

So if you ARE going to cave and get your youngster a phone...give Kajeet a try. (and by the way, Kajeet, thanks for the phone! NIIICE!)